1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to rheometers, which are used to characterize materials by measuring the materials' viscosity, elasticity, shear thinning, yield stress, compliance and/or other material properties.
2. Background of the Invention
Rotary rheometers, viscometers or viscosimeters are used to measure fluid or other properties of materials, such as their viscosity, by rotating, deflecting or oscillating a measuring object in a material, and measuring, for example, the torque required to rotate or deflect or oscillate the object within the material. As used herein, the term “rheometer” shall mean rheometers, viscometers, viscosimeters and similar instruments that are used to measure the properties of fluid or similar (see list below) materials.
The term “measuring object” shall mean an object having any one of several geometries, including, for example, cones, discs, vanes, parallel plates, concentric cylinders and double concentric cylinders. The materials may be liquids, oils, dispersions, suspensions, emulsions, adhesives, biological fluids such as blood, polymers, gels, pastes, slurries, melts, resins, powders or mixtures thereof. Such materials shall all be referred to generically as “fluids” herein. More specific examples of materials include asphalt, chocolate, drilling mud, lubricants, oils, greases, photoresists, liquid cements, elastomers, thermoplastics, thermosets and coatings.
As is known to one of ordinary skill in the art, many different geometries may be used for the measuring object in addition to the cylinders, cones, vanes and plates listed above. The measuring objects may be made of, for example, stainless steel, anodized aluminum or titanium. U.S. Pat. No. 5,777,212 to Sekiguchi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,377 to Abel and U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,468 to Sweet describe various configurations, constructions and applications of rheometers.
The fluid properties of materials are generally dependent on their temperature. For that reason, it is generally important that the temperature of the material being tested is known and is homogeneous. If the temperature of the material being tested were not homogeneous, the accuracy and validity of the measurement would be seriously compromised. Thus, the temperature of the fluid is generally accurately controlled, and is preferably made as homogeneous as possible, for example by using a fluid bath or a Peltier plate. Compared to a fluid bath, a Peltier plate temperature control system provides a more rapid heating and cooling of the sample, and is more economical, because it does not require an expensive controlled-temperature fluid circulator.
FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view of a prior art rotary rheometer 100, showing lead screw 101, draw rod 102, optical encoder 103, air bearing 104, drive shaft 105, drag cup motor 106, measuring object 107 (shown in FIG. 1A as a parallel plate), heating/cooling assembly (e.g., a Peltier plate) 108, temperature sensor 110 (e.g., a Pt temperature sensor), surface 111, normal force transducer 112, and auto gap set motor and encoder 113. FIG. 1B is a schematic drawing of a concentric cylinder configuration in position on the rheometer of FIG. 1A, showing the control jacket 120 of the concentric cylinder configuration on top of normal force transducer 112 of rheometer 100. FIG. 1B shows a cylindrical measuring object 121 (used in this configuration instead of the parallel plate measuring object 107 shown in FIG. 1A). In operation, control jacket 120 contains a sample cup.
As mentioned above, uniform heating of a sample is an important factor in obtaining accurate measurements. As with many prior art devices, the rheometer of FIG. 1A relies solely on a Peltier heater 108 as the heat source to heat the sample from the bottom. Controlling the temperature from just one side of the sample in this manner can introduce error. As testing moves further away from ambient temperatures, error may increase due to the likelihood of increased temperature gradients. Increasing geometry gap as well as increasing temperature sensitivity of the sample may also increase error. For many applications, especially those occurring near ambient temperature, the error associated with single-side heating is insignificant.
As testing is done away from ambient temperatures, it becomes more desirable to have more uniform heating thus making heating from more than just the lower plate desirable. One example of a prior art device that utilizes multi-station heating is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,571,610. That disclosure teaches the use of an upper Peltier plate used in combination with a lower Peltier heating plate to achieve more uniform heating and cooling of a sample. Peltier plates may not, however, be the most desirable manner of heating the upper geometry of a rheometer. Such Peltier heating as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,571,610 can create a chimney effect whereby colder ambient air is drawn toward the heating element and exhausted out the top of the device. Such a flow of air can lead to undesirable cooling or simply affect heating of the sample such that the measurements taken become less accurate.
Further, the heat spreader of U.S. Pat. No. 6,571,610 moves relative to the upper Peltier heater as necessary to accommodate an increased or decreased sample gap. Because the heat spreader does not remain at a constant distance from the Peltier heater, the heating profile of the heat spreader, and thus the sample being tested, is constantly changing. This constantly changing difference in heating capability requires recalibration of the rheometer practically every time a new sample is tested. It would be desirable to have a rheometer with upper geometry heating capabilities that overcomes the drawbacks, such as chimney effect and sensitivity of the heat transfer function to geometry gap, of prior art rheometers.